Amazing Wyoming

We crossed into Montana from a journey through Wyoming that can only be described as WOW and beyond anything I could have expected. It feels wonderful not to know what day or time it is. Mondays and Saturdays are the same. The only time of reference I am using these days is dawn and dusk. It is truly liberating not being connected 24/7, since phone and internet availability are very limited. 

Absence of time makes you focus on the here and now.  No deadlines, no appointments, no schedules. In this state it does not matter if it rains or not, if it is cloudy or sunny, for it all is perfect as it is. And perfect in Wyoming transcends the meaning for the word. This state is unspoiled and pristine, home of some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

Our journey through Wyoming started at the Devil’s tower, a monolith rock that stands 865 feet tall and it is the result of cooled magma, that due to 50 million years of erosion it began to peek out of the ground until it got to where it is today. It is sacred ground for several Indian nations and an incredible sight to admire. We walked the trail that surrounds the tower and we discovered that every single angle is different from the next. The tower does definitely have an eerie and otherworldly feeling to it, especially at dusk. I guess this is why Steven Spielberg chose it for his movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

 

 I think what I liked the most, was the juxtaposition between the cold and harsh stone of the tower and the luscious beauty beneath it. Life is abundant and the views from the tower into the Belle Fourche River prairie are phenomenal.

 

 

 

 

We spent the night in Red Lodge, where we had our best camping experience yet. Our site was next to the Clark’s Fork River and its waters were fast and loud. Between the sound of the water and cool breeze it created, we slept like babies.

 

 The next morning we left camp early, since we had a very tough ride ahead crossing the continental divide via the Bear Tooth Pass.   

 

  

The road is one of the steepest and most scenic byways in the US. It took us about 5 hours to travel 60 miles. Of course, we stopped to enjoy the views which are out of this world, adding time to the journey. At the summit we met these two crazy guys, preparing to ski down a glacier and hopefully reach a frozen lake at the bottom of the mountain. The one with a “GoPro” camera on his helmet jumped first and we lost sight of him within 3 seconds. The other one kept on looking for him and we never saw him follow his buddy. I am not sure if this guy was the smarter of the two or the wimpy one. We are still debating the topic.

  

I kept on asking Herb why they call it the Bear Tooth Pass and he kept on saying, you will find out at the top. I was expecting to see this massive mountain that looked like a bear’s tooth. At some point I saw a sign that said Bear Tooth, I kept on looking but I could not see anything obvious that resemble a tooth of any kind. Herb kept on saying, don’t you see it? It is there!!!! Sure enough, way in the distance, a tiny little peak nestled within two huge mountains stood. What the heck? They named this entire place after that little peak? Herb was not amused. He was so happy to see it again, for he had traveled the pass many times before. For me, it was like, wow, someone really had a lot of imagination and good eyes, to find this tiny peak and see a bear’s tooth in it.

Next stop was Yellowstone National Park. We had visited the park several years ago during a ski trip to Big Sky Montana. Winter in Yellowstone is hauntingly silent, white, barren, and one can witness the life and death struggle for survival of its inhabitants. But as harsh as it was, it was also magnificent. To see Yellowstone in the spring is a complete different experience. It is vibrant and overflowing with life. The herds of bison that survived through the winter are now strong and healthy, proud parents to beautiful calves.

 

The streams can barely contain the melting snow and the trout rejoices swimming upstream through the rapids to spawn. All is green and blooming, even the geysers seem more active. One of my favorite images is the one of the bison laying on the side of a geyser, so content with the warmth and the peace of its surroundings.

 

Yellowstone is without a doubt one of its kind. Everyone can find a favorite thing about the park. For me it is the volcanic activity. Geysers, mud volcanos, and cauldrons are just fascinating. I think what is even more mind blowing is the fact that the park itself is a super volcano. The distance between the surface and volcanic activity in some areas is inches (just a thin crust).

 

 

 

For Herb, the most beautiful part of the park is the Yellowstone River Grand Canyon. 

It is remarkable to see how Lake Yellowstone gives birth to the river, gently flowing away, completely unaware that a few miles ahead, this peaceful stream will turn into rapids so turbulent that carve their mark by cutting deep into the rock of the canyon. The canyon itself is spectacular, especially from Artist Point, where the view of the waterfall is extraordinary. 

 

I was taken aback by the amount of tourist being shuttled in mega buses. I was prepared for the crowds, but I was not prepared for the amount of foreign tourists. They are a sight in their own right.

 They seem to flow out of the buses just like the river flows through the canyon, sporting some of the strangest outfits one can imagine, (which look even stranger against the earthy backdrop of the environment), and consuming the sights through their IPads, as if they were about to vanish.

I am completely aware that the park is for everyone to enjoy and everyone deserves to share its beauty, but for me, the crowds diminished the experience. There were some moments I felt I was more in Disneyworld that in a national park. (The image of a Chinese woman wearing some sort of fur coat and sparkling red patent leather shoes walking around the West Thumb Geyser Basin has been permanently imprinted in my memory, and not in a good way.)

Thank God for the Grand Tetons…. My favorite part of the trip so far. If I had to describe what I think heaven looks like I would just produce my pictures from this most amazing place on earth.

 

The only word that comes to mind to describe the Teton mountain range is majestic. The snowcapped peaks stand proudly and serene in their own quiet beauty. Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are like sisters, who live and belong in the same household but could not be more different from each other.  Yellowstone has this flashy in your face kind of beauty and personality. Grand Teton is the opposite with its subdued, quiet and soulful inner beauty.

The peaks are permanently touching the sky, playing with the clouds, which seem to love leaning restfully on them. In the mornings, the clouds descend on the lakes and valleys, and as they begin to lift, one can observe these amazing “cloud bridges” that connect one peak to the other.

Besides the magical nature of the place, there are two memories that stand out for me.

The first one is observing this spooked out young female elk. We ran into her very early one morning on our way to “Two Ocean Lake”. It was strange to see her alone without any other herd members around, looking freaked out. While watching her, I spotted a wolf flanking her to her left.

 It seemed to us that the wolves had been able to manage separating her from the herd. It was a sight not many people get to see while in the park. We were far away from busy roads, deep in the wilderness. I guess Herb got so wrapped into the moment that he left the binoculars on top of the truck, and he did not realize it until they went flying off as we drove away. Now we have “two monoculars” So we each have one instead of having to share.

  

The second memory has to do with the little beaver at a peaceful meandering stream on Schwabacher’s Landing, off the Snake River. The beaver chose probably the most heaven-like place in the park to build his dam, and he just kept on swimming from one side of the river to the other, all alone, so graceful and innocent.

 

 

 

 

 

Wyoming ended with a visit to Jackson Hole, a very cool western town. Super chilled and very picturesque. The town is next to the National Elk Refuge, and every year, the boys scouts collect the racks that were shed in the spring, which are sold for charity. It is really a lovely place.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop, Montana......

“What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb into riotous gladness!”

 

Helen KellerAuthor and activist